Call system.



J. HBRGBSHBIMER.

GALL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED Mum, 1913.

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GALL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1913.l

1,o93,1 32. Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

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if lllllllll/l A mul \ l mmm lll TED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

JOHN HERGESHEIMER, 0F GLENSIDE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CALL SYSTEM.

T0' all whom 'it may concern Be it'known thatl J ouN I-InnonsnmMEn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Glenside, in the county of Montgomeiy and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and uset'ul Call System, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide simple, com )aratively inexpensive and reliable means or indicating from a central station at various points throughout a factory or place of business, to which various employees may go, that a certain one of such employees 1s wanted either at some central point or at al telephone communicating with t-hat point.

Another object of the present invention is t-o provide for the accomplishment of the above object in a quiet, yet certain manner.

The invention will be claimed at the end hereof, but will be first described in connection withthe embodiments of it chosen from other embodiments for the sake of illust-ration.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a call system embodying features of the invention and showing the call station and one sub-station. Fig. 2, is a view illustrating a detail of construction. Fig. 3, is a view illustrating a modification, and Fig. 4, is a front view of the call station.

Referring to Fig). 1, 1 is a plug contact board which may e faced with insulating material 2, so as to prevent making contact until the plug 3 is properly inserted into one of the holes 4. Each hole 4 corresponds with the name or number of the person to be summoned and in order to call a certain person the plug is inserted into the proper hole. 5, is a solenoid or Winding and the movable core 6, thereof is provided with a contact finger 7 'that traveling over the contact points 8 makes and breaks contact. The core 6 is also provided with a stop 9 adapted to collide with the contact pin 3 and thus arrest the travel of the solenoid. As shown the stop 9 is mounted on a post 10. 11 is a valve consisting of a disk wit-h holes vin it andvwhich is a'orded a slight range of mo-` tion in respect to the screw by which it is connected with the core 6. The top of the solenoid is' closed as at 12 and the core 6 is grooved as at 13. In consequence of -this construction air may escape from the center Specification. of Letters Patent.

Application tiled March 5, 1913.

' make and break.

Patented Apr. 1.4, 1914. Serial No. 752,097.

of the coil slowly when the core is rising so that the core rises slowly but in descending the yalve and groove permit the air to escape rapidly so that the core may drop quickly. 'lhe purpose ol this arrangement is to cause the makes and breaks at the parts 7 and 8 to occur at comparatively long intervals. lt may be said that the number of contacts 8 ccrreslmnds with the number of holes 4.

There may be many sub-stations and since they are all duplicates and are electrically connected in multiple it follows that a description of one is suliicient.

At the sub-station there is a dial 14 upon which appeal' the names of the various persons, any one of which may be summoned from the call station. There is also at the sub-station a hand or pointer 15 which by point-ing to a certain name indicates the person wanted. This hand is operated in one direction by a ratchet wheel 16 and in the other direction by gravity.

. 17, is a spring actuated detent for preventing undesirable movement of the ratchet wheel.

18, is a driving pawl actuated by a spring 19 and retracted by the armature lever 20 and electro-magnet 21.

If desired the armature lever 20 may be provided with a striker 22 which cooperates with a bell 23.

There is a source of current as 24. Current passes by 25, plug 3, board l and thence it divides, one part passing by QG through the coil 5 and by 27 hack to the source 24.

6 or plunger Gland thence by the contacts 7 and 8 intermittently by the conductor Qt)4 through the magnet 21 and by the conductors 30 and 31 back to the source. Another part passes by the conductor 32 through the coil of the magnet 33 and thence by the conductor 34 to the conductor 31 back to the source. The effect of these various currents is that the magnet 33 mounted on thel spindle 35 of the ratchet wheel 16 is energized and attracting the pointer 15 makes it. in effect one piece with the ratchet wheel. Plunger 6 rises slowly and in so doing makes and breaks the circuit through the magnet 2l with a suitable interval between each At each make the pawl 18 is drawn forward to engage a tooth of the ratchet wheel and at each break the spring 19 advances the ratchet Wheel one inserted.

tooth. In consequence of'all this the ratchet wheel is advanced tooth by tooth until the' stop 9 hits the end of the pin 3, when the ratchet wheel. and the pointer 15 come t0 rest and remain at rest opposite the name on the dial that corresponds with the name 'that appertains tothehOIe in which the plug is its initial position ready for vanother call.l

Instead of connecting'the pointer with-the ratchet whee1`16vby means'of anelectromagnet in order to ermit the pointer 15t0 drop back, the ratc et wheel may be fast to the pointer and the pointer and ratchet wheel may. bepeimitted to drop back t0- gether. This may be accomplished as shown m Fig. 3, .in which the lelectro-magnet 38- operates when energized to draw the detent 11 and pawl 18 out of mesh. This magnet 38 is in a circuit that can be made and broken by a switch, diagrammatically shown at 39 in Fig. 3. The switch 39 serves to make and break the circuit 40 from the source 24 through the magnet 38. This switch will be Y pointer and ratchet opened durin the call and will' be closed after the call 1s answered so as topermit the wheel vto return to starting osition. A'

v T e number of names that'may be used is practically unlimited. Upon one board 1, the holes 4 may-be staggered-and in that way a number of names can be accommodated, but the number of boards may be increased.

As shown in Fig. 4, three boards 1,1a and 1 are shownand they are interconnected as is diagrammaticallyshown by the conductors 41 and 42. The core 6 of each board is rovided with a contact 43 that they may ma ze contact with conductors 44 and 45, leading to the'other end of the next' coil in the series. One end of all of the coils 5 is connected by branches 27*I and 27b and conductor 27 with the side of the source .opposite to the side to which the lug 3 is connected by the conductor 25 an the other end of each of the coils, except the coil 5, is normallyv disconnected and is dead until it is broughtinto circuit by a contact 43 and one of the conductors/44 and 45. All of the contacts 8 are connected to a common conducting plate 46 with which the wire 29, Fig. 1, is connected. i f

Having reference to Fig.4, if the plug be inserted, .for example, as shown, current is established in. themanner described in con-g fnection lwith Fig. 1,-through the coil l5 of board 1 and through lthe various circuits 'described in that figure so that the core 6 of height current is established by the contact 43 through the conductor 44 so that the coil of the'next board 1 is energized and its core rises causing additional makes and breaks at the contacts 7 and 8l until the further rise of this core is interrupted by the pin 3 contacting with the stop From this description it is believed that the operation of the plurality of boards will be understood, although it may be said that the,y circuit for the coil of the board 1 is from the plug 3 through the interconnected boards through the plunger of the board 1, the contact 43, the conductor 44, the coil of the board 1a by 27 and 27 back to the battery or course.

It will-bc obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifications may bemade in details without departing from the spirit of the invention and ence I do not limit myself in regard to those matters, nor further than the prior state of the art may require, but

Havingthus described the nature and objects of my invention, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A call'system comprising a freely movable pointer and its complemental plate or vface, an electro-magnetic annunciator mechanism having a rotating element with which 'the pointermay be connected and disconnected, a make and break device and its circuit for actuating said annunciator mechaconnect-in and disconnecting the pointer and said rotating element, and switch mechanism -for controlling said circuits and' including means for mechanically arresting the core of the solenoid at the end of its travel to position the pointer at the end of its travel, substantially as described. t

2. A call system comprising a freely movable pointer and its complemental plate or face, an electro-magnetic annunciatormechanism having a rotating element with which the pointer may be connected and disconre'cted, a make and break device and its circuit for actuating ysaid mechanism with a step by step movement, a solenoid` having a circuit and provided with a core for operating the make and break device, means for retarding the movement of said core when its coil is energized to insure step by step ment, and switch mechanism for controlling said' .circuits and including means for mechanically arresting the core of the solenoid at the end of its t-ravel to position the pointer at the endof its travel, substantiallyas described.

3. A call system comprisin the combination of a ratchet wheel, a reely movable pointer and its plate or face, spring pawland-ratchet connections for driving the ratchet Wheel, an electro-magnet and its circuit for operating said connections, a series of contacts and their contact maker for making and braking the circuit of said electromagnet, a solenoid and its core for operating the contact maker, a second electro-magnet and its circuit for connecting and disconnecting the pointer and ratchet wheel, a plug board, and a plug for establishing and disestablishing said circuits and for mechanically limiting the travel of the solenoid after it has operated to shift the pointer into position corresponding with the plug.

4. In a call system the combination of a step-by-step annunciator mechanism and a step-by-step transmitting mechanism and their circuits, a self-setting pointer freely -movable in respect to the annunciator mechanism, and electro-magnetic connections for connecting said polnter with said annun ciator mechanism to drlve the pointer and foi disconnecting the pointer and annunciator mechanism to permit the pointer to reset itself.

5. In a call system the combination of a solenoid coil, a circuit interrupter, a solenoid corefor operating the interrupter, a plug board, a plug for closing the solenoid circuit, and provisions whereby the plug mechanically arrests the travel of the core, substantially as described.

6. In a call system the combination of a solenoid coil' closed at one end, a circuit in terrupter comprising a line of contacts, a solenoid core provided With a contact adapted to travel over the iirst mentioned contacts, and anair valve and its complemental vent for limiting the rate of travel of the core under the influence of the coil, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a call system of a transmitter and a step-by-step receiving mechanism including a pointer, of an electro-magnet for coupling the pointer with the receiving mechanism and for uncoupling the pointer to permit it to return to starting position, and a plug for mechanically arresting the ltransmitter and for electrically coupling and uncoupling the pointer.

JOHN HER'GESHEIMER.

Witnesses:

CLIFFORD K. CAssEL, FRANK E. FRENCH. 

